Singapore: Halt imminent execution

The Singaporean authorities must immediately halt the imminent execution of a man who has been sentenced to death under the country’s cruel anti-drug laws, Amnesty International said today.

The family of Hishamrudin Bin Mohd was told this week that his execution is scheduled to take place on Friday 16 March. He was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty for possessing nearly 35 grams of diamorphine for the purpose of trafficking in 2016.

“This execution must be stopped immediately. The Singaporean authorities only have two days to do the right thing and ensure that yet another life is not lost to its callous anti-drug laws,” said James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“The death penalty is always a human rights violation, but mandatory death sentences make its use even more appalling. These laws deny courts the ability to take into account the circumstances of the crime or of the defendant.”

Both the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences and the imposition of mandatory death sentences contravene international law and standards.

“Hishamrudin Bin Mohd has raised serious concerns about the evidence on which he was convicted, as well as the fairness of his trial and appeal, while maintaining his innocence. Tomorrow’s hearing represents a final chance to halt this execution – it’s one that can’t be missed,” said James Gomez.

“It is deeply concerning that just last week, Singapore sent another drug convict to the gallows. Singapore must immediately impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to its eventual repeal. This cruel and irreversible punishment has no place in any society, as more than two-thirds of the world’s countries have come to recognize.”

Background

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. As of today, 106 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and more than two-thirds of the world’s countries are abolitionist in law or practice.

On 9 March 2018, a Ghanaian national was executed in Singapore after he was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in July 2016 for importing 1,634.9g of methamphetamine.